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Decades Of Experience Building Families Through Adoption

Wherever you and your child are on your journey to becoming a family, I can help.

I've Helped Hundreds Of Hopeful Parents Like You

In 1993, I helped my first family join together through the process of adoption. It was a joyful and life-affirming experience. I decided then that this was what I wanted to do with my life. For the past 20 years, I've been helping children and parents build and grow their families through adoptions of all types: agency adoption, international adoption, interstate adoption, relative adoption, co-parent adoption, step-parent adoption, and foster parent adoption.

I'm adoption lawyer Genie Gillespie. My Chicago law practice is exclusively devoted to adoption and the legal issues concerning the safety and security of children. I've helped hundreds of couples and individuals realize their dreams of parenthood. Whether you are hoping to adopt for the first time, or you want to bring a sibling home to join your other children, my law office can assist you.

Serving Parents, Children, and the Legal Community

I typically work with prospective parents who have already identified a child that they want to adopt, but I am happy to work with you at any stage of the process. The child may be a waiting child here in the U.S., or a child from overseas who has been brought home but needs final paperwork completed. It may be a child in the juvenile or foster care system. It may be a baby, a small child, or an older child who has already experienced a great deal of turmoil in his or her life.

In order to serve adoptive parents and families better, I am extensively involved in the local and national adoption communities. I am co-founder of the Center for Law and Social Work, a nonprofit agency that develops viable back-up plans for older or ill adoptive parents. I am the former Director of the Child Custody and Adoption Pro Bono Project of the American Bar Association and I have trained hundreds of attorneys to properly handle pro bono adoption and guardianship cases. I also serve on the Board of Directors of Parents Care and Share, a child abuse prevention program, and am a two-time past chair of the Chicago Bar Association Adoption Law Committee.

Offering Help When Help is Needed

I am dedicated to the welfare of children and their families. Even when your adoption is complete, I am here for you. No parent wants to give up, and neither do I. I never turn away from my clients in their time of need. I am a trained mediator and I use this and other skills to help families address the challenges they face to avoid adoption disruption. I understand the stresses the system imposes or worsens. I conduct mediations of service appeals between adoptive or foster parents and the child welfare system.

I also help families with long-term planning for the care of their child and can advise you on standby adoption, standby guardianship, and other options available to parents in Illinois.

Working To Achieve Your Goals

I invite you to
contact my law office for a free initial consultation. Learn how I can help you and your child unite for a bright future. My fees are reasonable, and I offer payment plans and a sliding fee scale. My office is centrally located in downtown Chicago, in the loop, near all public transportation.